Manual propelling and steering device for boats



E. KAISER March 10, 1936.

MANUAL PROPELLING AND STEERING DEVICE FOR BOATS Filed May 15, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

E. KAISER MANUAL PROPELLING AND STEERING DEVICE FOR BOATS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 15, 1955 IN V EN TOR.

E KAISER Marl-ch M), 1936.

MANUAL PROPELLING AND STEERING DEVICE FOR BOATS Filed May 15, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 in INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANUAL PROPELLING AND STEERING DEVICE FOR BOATS 8 Claims.

This invention relates to boats and particularly to devices for use in, manually propelling and directively controlling boats.

The object of the invention is to facilitate the manual propelling and directive control of boats, to enable the manual propulsion of a boat at a higher speed and with greater safety, and to enable at any time the immediate changing from one method of manual propulsion to another, such for instance as from paddling to rowing or vice versa.

A feature of the invention is a unitary, portable and readily removable device adapted to be set on the bottom of a boat for use in manually propelling and directively controlling the boat.

Another feature of the invention is a device for use in manually rowing a boat in the direction in which the oarsman is facing, the device being collapsible and the oars readily convertible to enable, whenever found desirable, the propulsion of the boat by paddling instead of by rowmg.

These and other features of the invention will be more readily understood by considering a specific embodiment of the invention, one such embodiment being illustrated in the drawings which form a part of this specification.

Referring to the drawings,-

Fig. 1 shows a cut-away mid-section of a boat in the bottom of which is set a device for use in propelling and directively controlling the boat;

Figs. 2 and 3 show the device collapsed;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are respectively side, front and top views of the pivot standard, pivot block and oar extensions;

Fig. 7 represents a cross-section of a portion of the collapsible pivot standard;

Fig. 8 is a front view of the foot support and steering mechanism; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of the foot support and steering mechanism taken on line 9-9 in Fig. 8.

The boat I is shown as having the construction of a canoe but the device is suitable for use with any kind of boat which is manually propelled by cars or paddles. The device is adapted to be set in the bottom of the boat in the location which will place the oars'man in the proper position. The bottom frame members 3 and 4 of the device rest on the ribs 2 of the boat, the friction being sufficient due to the weight of the device and oarsman to prevent lengthwise movement of the device. The device is held in position laterally by the curvature of the ribs. If necessary fixed stops could be attached to the frame members 3 and 4 to prevent either sidewise or lengthwise motion of the device with respect to the boat. The frame members 34 which are preferably made of wood, are fastened in parallel relation by cross-braces 5, 6, 1 and 8 each of which braces may be made of wood or other suitable material. As shown in the drawings braces 5, 6 and B are made of angle (L) iron and brace 1 is made of channel (U) iron. Angle iron runners H and I2 are attached to the upper side of the rear half of each of frame members 3 and 4, the runners II and I 2 being high enough above the bottom of the boat to afford the proper vertical position of the seat in which straddles the runners and has Wheels l3 at each end so that the seat is readily movable lengthwise of the boat as is well known in rowing devices. At the front of the device, two triangular shaped wooden sections 53 and 54 are fixed by screws or other means to the upper surface of the frame members 3 and 4. Between the end sections 53 and 54 is fastened a base board 52 which may be formed of a metal plate with turned down ends which are screwed to the end sections, the base board having the desired slope for supporting the two foot plates 55.

A metal rod l4 extends between and is fixed at its ends to the frame members 3 and 4 by short metal angles I5. The rod l4 may extend slightly into the members 3 and 4. A sturdy channel iron I! has at one end holes into which the rod i4 is fixed prior to being rotatably fastened in place on members 3 and 4. The channel iron I! is thus pivoted at one end in the middle of the rod l4. To fasten the channel iron H in a vertical position, a channel iron brace I8 is afiixed at one end by hinge 19 to the middle of cross brace 6 and at its upper end by a bolt 2! and wing-nut 22 to the channel iron IT. The bolt 2| rides in a slot in the channel iron I! so that by loosening the wing-nut 22 the standard and brace may be lowered to a horizontal position parallel to the frame members 3 and 4. The cross brace I is slotted to allow the standard I! to be flush with the top of the frame. The side of the channel 3, to which the hinge I9 is fastened, is extended and bent upward to limit the upward swing of the brace and thus aid bolt 2| in rigidly fixing the channel iron I! in a vertical position.

The channel iron I! when fixed in its vertical position is a standard, the upper end of which is slotted, the slots 23 being adapted to receive a pivot-block member 24. To fasten the pivotblock in position, a U pin 26 is inserted in opposing holes 25 in the standard I! and pivot-block member 24. The U pin is permanently fastened by a chain 21 to the standard so as always to be available for use. The pivot-block consists of a bottom plate 28 and top plate 29 spaced apart by a horizontally projecting portion of member 24. A top plate 33, the pivot plates 28 and 29 and horizontal portion of member 24 are fastened together to form a unit by bolts 30 and nuts 3|, the bolts extending through opposing holes in the plates 28 and 29 and member 24. Held by bolts 30 between washers 32 are the ends of fiat springs 34 which serve to normally hold the cars up out of the water as hereinafter more particularly described. Opposing spherically shaped recesses in the corresponding ends of plates 28 and 29 constitute bearings for the ball ends of metal arms 36 which extend outward, one from each end of the pivot-block, into the ends of two wooden oar extensions 31. There is a metal sleeve 38 around the inner end of each of arms 31; and a bolt 42 extends through each of the sleeves and enclosed wooden and metal arms 36 and 31 to permanently fix their attachment. Holes 39 in the ends of the upper plate 29 are provided for oiling the bearing surfaces with which the ball ends of arms 36 are in contact. The opposing faces of the ends of plates 28 and 29 are beveled and the ends of lower plate 28 are further cut away so that the pivot arms 36 are free to be moved upward somewhat above the horizontal and to allow the pivot arms 36 to be moved below the horizontal as far as is necessary to dip the oars into the water as is hereinafter more particularly described. Permanently set around the outer ends of the one of the wooden bar extensions 31 is a metal sleeve 43 adapted to receive the grip end of an oar or paddle 44. The words oar and paddle are herein used interchangeably. The outer end of the other oar extension is slightly reduced in diameter so as to fit into the end of another metal sleeve 43 permanently set around the end of the other of a pair of paddles. This set of paddles is adapted to be joined together for use in paddling, in well-known manner, after the pivot-block has been removed from the standard I! and the standard has been turned down into the bottom of the boat.

With the rowing device placed in the bottom of the boat, the standard raised, the pivot-block and arms attached to the top of the standard, and with the paddles 44 afiixed to the end of the pivot arms and extension, the weight of the paddles would cause the paddles to drop down into the water. To hold the paddles normally up in a horizontal position out of the water, each of metal springs 34 are horizontally pivoted at one end on a bolt 30, the opposite end of the springs being attached to the oar extension arms by sleeves 40. A series of holes 4| are provided in the springs 34 so that the position of the sleeves can be adjusted to properly balance the weight of the paddles.

The oars or paddles 44, as soon as grasped by the oarsman, drop into the water due to the weight of the oarsmans arms and may then be pulled backward through the water, the oarsman being seated in seat [0 with his feet braced against supports 55. The boat is thus moved forward in the direction the oarsman is facing, the foot supports being used both for bracing the oarsman and for steering the boat. To this end, each support comprises a heel piece 6| upwardly projecting side pieces 62 and a strap 63 and is pivoted at the heel on a pin 56 which is fixed to and extends upward from the base board 52. Other pins 58 extend upward through the base board 52 into slots 51 in the foot supports 55 at a point approximately opposing the balls of the oarsmans feet. The foot supports 55 may therefore be moved only in a plane parallel to the base board 52 about the heels pivots 56. The foot supports 55 extend out beyond the base board 52 and a bar is fixed by pins 59 to each of the foot supports. The two foot supports must therefore move in the same direction, any movement of these supports being communicated to a rudder cord lever 6! by means of a pin 66 which extends through a hole in the middle of bar 60 into a slot 69 in the upper end of the lever 61. In Fig. 9 the lever arm is partially cut away so as to more clearly show the slot 69. The pin 68 moves up and down in the slot 69 as the foot supports 55 are moved to the right or to the left. The lever 61 is pivoted at its upper end on a pin 66 extending through opposing holes in the lever 61 and a hook-shaped metal member 64 which is fixed by screws 65 to the base board 52. The short leg of the member 65 is above the base board 52 and the long leg extends upward below the base board and below the rudder cord lever 61. The pins 56, 58 and 66 are shown to be loosely held in place by cotter pins.

The hook-shaped member 64 not only serves as a pivot for the lever 61 but shields the lever 61 so that it cannot be damaged while the device is being stored in a boat house or locker. To the free end of the lever 61 are attached, the cordend fixtures 1! by a pin 10. The two rudder cords 12 extend from these fixtures in opposite directions toward the sides of the boat, through holes 14, around pulleys 13 attached to end blocks 53 and 54, thence backward along the sides of the boat, in well-known manner, to con trol the rudder. By moving the front portions of his feet to the left or right a small amount, the oarsman may move the rudder cord a substantially greater amount sufliciently to obtain the desired maximum rudder movement. The rudder cord might of course be controlled by the movement of only one foot and the arrangement might be one in which the front part of the foot supports are adapted to be moved toward each other to secure one movement of the rudder and to be moved apart from each other to secure an opposite movement of the rudder.

The ball-ended pivots allow feathering of the oars, the oar extensions being loosely supported by the springs 34 and sleeves 46. Since the springs 34 are pivoted at a point closer to the center of the pivot-block than are the oar extension arms 36, the sleeves 46 slide back and forth a small distance on the oar extension arms when the oars are moved forward and backward.

The above described arrangement is one which permits both oars to be pulled at all times with full strength even when the boat is being turned since the foot-operated steering mechanism makes unnecessary the unequal pulling of the oars or the use of one car alone.

If at any time it is found desirable to change from rowing to paddling, the oars 44 are disconnected from the oar extension arms 31, and may then be fastened together for paddling, the U pin 26 is pulled out, the pivot-block member 24 disengaged from the standard I1, wing-nut 22 is loosened, and the standard I! and brace I8 are turned down leaving the space clear for paddling in conventional manner. To change back from paddling to rowing, the reverse series of operations takes place. The change from rowing to paddling or vice versa may be quickly made by the oarsman while in the boat and without moving from the seat. It is of course obvious that the steering mechanism may be used while paddling as well as While rowing and that the device may be used for rowing only if so desired such for instance as in case the boat in which the device is placed is not equipped with a rudder.

By removing the paddles and the extension arms, and collapsing the standard, the remainder of the device is easily lifted out of the boat for placing in a locker in the boat house as is usual with other equipment. The material used in making the device may be selected to give the necessary strength with a minimum of weight, such for instance as the use of aluminum alloy channels and angles.

What is claimed is:

1. A rowing device comprising a frame adapted to be set in the bottom of a canoe, a seat for the rower mounted on said frame, a foot support fixed on the forward end of said frame,[a vertical standard supported by said frame between the foot support and seat, a pivot block, means for securing said pivot block to the top of said standard, oar extensions pivoted in said pivot block, the free end of said oar extensions being adapted for rigid attachment to the grip ends of a pair of paddles, said pivot block being readily detachable from said standard.

2. A rowing device comprising a frame adapted to be set in the bottom of a canoe, a seat for the rower mounted on said frame, a foot support fixed on the forward end of said frame, a vertical standard supported by said frame between the foot support and seat, a pivot block, means for securing said pivot block to the top of said standard, oar extensions pivoted in said pivot block, the free end of said oar extensions being adapted for rigid attachment to the grip ends of a pair of paddles, said standard being readily collapsible with respect to said frame.

3. A rowing device comprising a frame adapted to be set in the bottom of a canoe, a seat for the rower mounted on said frame, a foot support fixed on the forward end of said frame, a vertical standard supported by said frame between the foot support and seat, a pivot block, means for securing said pivot block to the top of said standard, oar extensions pivoted in said pivot block, the free ends of said oar extensions being adapted for rigid attachment to the grip ends of a pair of paddles, said pivot block being readily detachable from said standard and said standard being readily collapsible with respect to said frame.

4. A device, for use in manually propelling and directively controlling a rudder equipped boat, comprising a frame adapted to be set into and lifted out from the bottom of the boat, a seat for the oarsman mounted on said frame, a foot board fixed on the forward end of said frame, a vertical standard supported by said frame between said foot board and seat, a pivot block attached to the top of said standard, two ballended pivot arms for attachment to the grip end of the oars, the ball end of each of said arms being pivotally held in socket bearings formed in said pivot block, a foot support pivotally attached to said foot board, and a lever arm adapted to control the rudder of the boat, said lever arm being actuated by moving said foot support about its pivot While the oarsmans foot is braced against said support.

5. In a rowing device adapted for use in rowing a boat in the direction the oarsman is facing, a pivot block, two ball-ended pivot arms, the ball end of said arms being pivotally held in socket bearings formed in the ends of said pivot block, oars, means for removably attaching the grip ends of said oars to said pivot arms, two flat springs for normally holding said oars in a horizontal position clear of the water and means for fastening each of the oars to its associated spring at the required distance from the pivot block to hold the oars in horizontal position.

6. In a rowing device adapted for use in rowing a boat in the direction the oarsman is facing, a pivot block, oars, the grip end of each car being pivotally held in said pivot block, a vertical standard for supporting said pivot block, means for removably fastening the pivot block to the top of said standard, and means including a hinge for fastening the lower end of said standard to the framework of said device, said last mentioned means being adapted to permit the 1standard to be turned down to a horizontal posiion.

'7. In a rowing device adapted for use in rowing a boat in the direction the oarsman is facing, a pivot block having a downwardly extending frame member, two ball-ended pivot arms, the ball end of each arm being pivotally held in bearings formed in the ends of said block, oars, means for removably attaching the grip end of said oars to said pivot arms, a vertical standard for supporting said pivot block, the upper end of said standard being slotted to receive the downwardly projecting member of said pivot block, opposing holes in the upper end of said standard and in the pivot block member when fitted together, and a U pin removably inserted in said holes to lock said pivot block and standard together.

8. In a rowing device adapted for use in rowing a boat in the direction the oarsman is facing, a pivot block, cars, the grip end of each car being pivotally held in said block, flat springs, one for each oar, one end of each spring being pivoted on said block to allow a rotary movement of the spring in a horizontal plane, a metal sleeve loosely encircling each car, and means for each oar and spring comprising a screw and a series of holes in the spring for fastening the sleeve to the spring at a point where the spring is just strong enough to sustain the car in a horizontal position.

EDMUND KAISER. 

